The Last Stand of Castellan Tarneus
by Marcus the Iron Raven
Summary: A single company of Black Templars have to defend their fortress against an entire Craftworld of Eldar.


Castellan Tarneus gasped aloud as the whirring chainsabre entered his chest, the sleek instrument ripping apart tissue and bone with ease, then was silenced forever with another slice to his throat, his spasming limbs marking the last few seconds of his life. Lying amongst the destruction and decay that had been inflicted upon the Black Templar fortress, the massive power-armored corpse was one of many left on the battlefield, where scarcely three hours earlier the hundred-man strong 3rd Fighting Company of the Black Templars, genetically enhanced warriors serving the Imperium and the God Emperor, were pushing back an Eldar assault with ease, or so they had thought at the time.  
Over a standard Terran week ago, Castellan Tarneus had received an intelligence report from his orbiting satellites informing him of a rise in activity at the edge of the system, the disturbance thought to be an Eldar Craftworld entering the system. Tarneus ordered defences to be put up and a strikeforce to wait in orbit with the fleet, while he himself filed a report of contact and clearned his bolter in preparation. Squad Vaselius was to accompany him on the field, and awaited him outside his personal Land Raider, the "_Fair Fight_". Tarneus had known Sergeant Vaselius since the 3rd Fighting Company had been reformed after the Madox Crusade, and considered him a good friend. Vaselius stood atop the Land Raider, using his mechanical expertise to help attach the multi-melta with a servitor. Recently Vaselius had expressed interest in travelling to Mars and becoming a techmarine, and Tarneus had nominated him and sent his recommendation to High Marshall Helbrekt. Saluting the men in his bodyguard, Tarneus clapped Vaselius on the back and headed inside, before the lumbering beast awoke and moved out to the forward command post.

It had started off rather routine; Rhino APCs drove into the battlefield with bikers escorting them, blasting away with their twin-linked boltguns as they approached. The Eldar force needing to duck for cover as the deadly bolter rounds were highly accurate, even on the move. The strikeforce Tarneus had ordered to orbit started to come down, drop pods whirled in from the sky, blasting huge craters into the enemy's flanks, where forth came more of Tarneus' brethren. A squad of Devestator marines had set up shop in a ruined tower a half kilometer away and were spewing death all over the battlefield while a Predator battle tank, the 'Wardog' was rolling slowly into position, popping its smoke launchers in an attempt to confuse the enemy artillery.

Half an hour into deployment, and the jump pack equipped Assault Marines were already in the enemy's trenches, fighting hand-to-hand with the Eldar's militia, the Guardian, their chainswords making short work of the militia. Vox chatter filled Tarneus' receiver, accurate reports of contact and detailed orders from sergeants to their men filling the channel. The Rhinos on the field starting popping smoke when the enemy's anti-tank squads came up from cover, dulling the accuracy of the marksmen and leaving most of the Rhinos intact.

Smoke and dust rolled over the battlefield, obscuring portions of the field from the orbiting relay station's view, but Vox reports still came through; preaching victory on the flanks and only a final push needed to force the Eldar back into their landers.

But the Space Marines celebrated too soon.

From the cover of smoke came Laser Lance-equipped Shining Spears, Eldar warriors who solely trained for the purpose of riding their lightning fast and agile jetbikes intto the battlefield, while the larger Vipers, highly-mobile weapon platforms, rained volley after volley into the Space Marine biker ranks, while the Spears used their lances to fire short-range explosive charges into the sides of the Rhinos, causing explosions to rock even the foundations of the ruined tower where the Devestator squad stood upon. Broken vox messages reported that large amounts of Howling Banshees, close-combat warrior-women of the Eldar, had counter-attacked the trenches, and were driving the Space Marines out in short order.

Tarneus cursed the lack of men at his disposal, and quickly commed the _Wardog_, and ordered a barrage of heavy bolter rounds upon the far end of the trenches, but as the side-sponsons sviveled into place and the autocannon turrent rotated, a flight of Swooping Hawks had dropped their payload of Haywire grenades on top of the _Wardog, _shorting out its electrical systems and even managing to melt the treads.

Tarneus was desperate now, and recalled every man on the field back to their own defensive lines, and watched as the scattered ranks of the tactical squads regrouped with assault marines, each man attempting to shoot down as many of the Hawks and Spears harrying them. Tarneus disembarked from the _Fair Fight _and signaled Vaselius to pass weapons depot in case of any infiltrators. When the _Fair Fight_ came within 20 metres of their lines, Tarnues' heart sank. Ranks of Striking Scorpions, had infiltrated behind their lines and were now preparing their Shuriken Pistol and Chainsabre defense, their green-armored helmets hideously grinning, as if to mock Tarneus for the mistake he had made. Tarneus turned and raced up the tower, hoping to reach the top and reform the remaining Black Templars into a defensive formation of some kind.

The men on the ground stoically raised their bolters and fired into their own trenches, attempting to cut down the Scorpians quickly, but the Scorpians had used their cover effectively, and almost no losses were taken, even after the _Fair Fight_ aimed its firepower upon them. Yells and shouts drifted up to the tower as Tarneus watched the carnage begin below. But a thud made Tarneus turn, only to see his Devestators lying dead at their positions, throats slit, while another group of Scorpions surrounded him. An explosion rocked the tower, and Tarneus knew that Vaselius and the _Fair Fight_ were gone. Quickly, he raised his Thunder Hammer and brought it down upon the nearest Scorpian and immediately pounded his brain flat, but pain burst in Tarneus' side as he felt the painful caress of a large, two-handed chainsabre brush his side. A Biting Blade, they called it, and the name suited it well, Tarneus thought grimly as he dropped his weapon and pulled out his own chainsword. Whilst smalled than the Biting Blade, it had been blessed by the Emperor's chaplains and could cleave through even the thickest armors. Pivoting on the spot, Tarneus aimed a downward slash at the Scorpian Exarch, which he deflected before spinning, bringing the other end of his blade flying at Tarneus' face. Barely jumping back in time, he felt droplets of blood run down his cheek.  
"In the Name of the Holy Emperor of Man, die!" Shouted Tarneus before launching himself at the Exarch again, bringing blow upon blow down upon the physically weaker alien, but failing to get past his skilled defenses. The other Scorpians laughed at the show, their musical tones barely invading Tarnues' bloodlust. A vox broadcast reported that a group of the Black Templars had escaped, but Tarneus knew he had to buy them time. Ripping off his frag grenade bandolier, he threw it hard at the other Scorpians, then threw his still-whirring chainsword, igniting an explosion that threw Tarneus off his feet and reduced the tower to rubble.

Darkness.

Tarneus jumped up, ignoring the pain in his legs and the choking heat in his lungs, and pulled out his combat knife. Through the choking dust his enhanced vision could spot various silhouettes and figures. Surrounding him were squads of Guardians, Banshees, Scorpians and even the dreaded, short-ranged teleporting Warp Spiders. Grimacing from the taste of iron in his mouth, Tarneus hurled himself at the nearest Eldar, plunging his knife deep within the alien's gut, before catching the downwards blow of a Banshee's sabre with his left hand, enclosed it within his massive powered gauntlet. Crumbling the sabre in his powerfist, Tarneus strode forwards and smashed the wielder in the face, snapping the Banshee's neck from the force of his punch, but the explosive charge from a passing Shining Spear propelled him forwards, into the mass of Eldar. Sword, fist, spear and sabre pierced his armor as Tarneus fought to get free, but the multitude of wounds were already taking their toll.  
Falling to the ground, Tarneus knew what awaited him.

For over ten thousand years the Adeptus Astartes; the Imperium's Defenders, the Angels of Death, the Space Marines, had been patrolling the galaxy and beating back traitors and xenos alike. Various plights befell them, but they stood strong, fought and died for the Emperor. For every planet in the galaxy there was a single Astartes. A small number, but when the Space Marines assembled into their companies and chapters, entire worlds trembled. The Black Templars were a single chapter amongst thousands of others, but all knew of the glories and praise heaped upon the Black Templars, the strictest defenders of the faith, and all aspired to be thought worthy in their eyes.  
They are the Space Marines, and they shall know no fear.


End file.
